Trump’s Tariffs: Did Mexico Have a Choice?

“This may sound as if Mexico were evil and did not want to help others, but this is not the case. If we become a safe third country, we would be biting off more than we can chew by condemning migrants to hellish conditions—mainly due to organized crime and lack of resources—and becoming the U.S. backyard.”

President Trump stood there, in front of dozens of cameras holding a white piece of paper. “That’s the agreement everyone says I don’t have. I’m going to let Mexico do the announcement at the right time…,” he claimed, as he quickly folded the paper containing the “secret agreement” into his left pocket. On the other side of the border, the Mexican Foreign Affairs Secretary Marcelo Ebrard stated there was nothing secretive about the deal between the countries and that “We [Mexico] couldn’t get everything but we got out with our dignity intact.”

Mexico is considered a country of transit, origin, and destination in the path of immigration. As a place of transit Mexico is bound to receive thousands of people escaping from violence and hoping to reach the “American Dream.” In the past year, Mexico has encountered unprecedented migratory waves coming especially from Central America; more than eighteen thousand people have entered Mexican territory illegally in the first few months of 2019. According to the National Institute of Immigration, in 2018 at least 26,000 asylum requests from Central Americans were received, and more than 50,000 are expected by the end of this year.

From the moment President Trump was elected, he has expressed how much he despises migrants – particularly Latinos— and how little he knows about their contribution to his country’s economy and well-being. The American Twitter-star and President announced on May 30th the imposition of a 5% tax over Mexican imports until the country stopped illegal immigrants from crossing the border and making their way to the United States. His decision surprised politicians on both sides of the border, particularly because Mexico is the United States’ second largest importer of goods. The tariffs would increase gradually reaching 25% if Mexico did not successfully stop illegal migration by October 2019, a mission impossible for the Latin American country. Even when warned by his fellow Republicans, President Trump did not change his mind about punishing his country’s neighbor and also endangering the well-being of thousands of American consumers of Mexican goods. But Mexico sent in the big guns, and negotiations started right away.

With a team of foreign policy and economy experts, Chancellor Marcelo Ebrard led the negotiations to avoid the imposition of tariffs. After several meetings between representatives of both countries, the Mexican delegation returned home with a successful retraction of President Trump’s proposal. Chancellor Ebrard saw this as a win for Mexico; Mexico had avoided a possible economic and production crisis which would further Mexico’s current incapacity for growth. The results of the Immigration Pact state that Mexico has to increase its budget for defense and immigration control, deploy the National Guard to the states along the border, which can massively detain immigrants trying to enter the territory, and accept asylum seekers who have already reached the U.S. while their process concludes—meaning Mexico is obligated to guarantee the migrants’ basic necessities and even provide them with jobs whether or not their asylum request to the United States is granted. All of these measures must result in a reduction of illegal immigration within 45 days; if the goal is not reached, then Mexico should lead a regional agreement and tariffs may again be imposed.